It was one of those dramatic moments, the kind often captured in the better sports films.

A player stepped into the spotlight at a key moment and provided the victory-launching spark in an important, team-defining game.

Such was the case with Costa Rican defender Leo Gonzalez, who gave his team that needed spark with an early goal that set the tone for the rest of the game.

The momentum fueled the Seattle Sounders in their 3-0 shutout victory over the New England Revolution at the Xbox pitch of Qwest Field Saturday night.

A crowd of 36,344, the largest to watch an MLS Sounders home match this season, felt the electricity of the moment when Gonzalez delivered his goal.

A symbolic fog lifted over the stadium as the Sounders scoring slump evaporated. 

Gonzalez’ timely goal shattered a 270 minute home scoreless drought in MLS play.

His contribution was anticipated, based on recent efforts. In the disappointing 1-0 road loss to the Colorado Rapids last week, in which the Sounders defense performed capably, Gonzalez demonstrated solid instinct.

The rangy defender repelled, compromising Colorado opportunities on numerous occasions.

On Saturday, those instincts went to work early on the offensive side of the ball, near the Revolution goal. It was another one of those opportunities that the Sounders have had lately that fell short of goals, near misses.

But this time, there was a solid connecting pattern that resulted in one of the most important Seattle scores of the season.

At the five minute mark, a golden opportunity surfaced with the Sounders in close striking range of the New England goal.

Fredy Montero whipped a crisp pass to fellow striker Steve Zakuani.

The African forward zipped the ball to Gonzalez, who was in superb position at the top corner of the box. Gonzalez delivered a swift and true left-footer from 15 yards out into the net, past Revolution goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth.

There was much more to come in the action-packed first half. 

Zakuani had supplied the winning feed to Gonzalez. Now it was time for him to score a goal of his own.

The goal was realized at the 24 minute mark. Montero sent a quick throw-in to midfielder Brad Evans. Evans chested the ball and Zakuani gained possession, slamming home a netter for his fourth goal of the season.

With Zakuani scoring his fourth goal of the season, it was only natural for fellow striker, Colombian Fredy Montero, to seek to keep pace.

Montero booted a right footer from the top of the box for his fourth score of the season, on assists from Pat Noonan and the busy Gonzalez, at the 42 minute mark.

Montero and Zakuni share the team lead with four goals. The Colombian leads Seattle with four assists.

There might not have been any scoring in the second half, but there were certainly opportunities.  

Freddie Ljungberg, who demonstrated excellent hustle from his midfielder position, had a particularly good look and came close to a score. The Sounders had several other good looks.

Seattle's shot domination told the story of how zealously the offense pressed the issue for the full 90 minutes. It was 19-2.

The 19 shots, eight of which were on goal, were a team record.

The Sounders have one more game before the World Cup break. They play at home against D.C. United on Thursday. The nationally televised game (ESPN2 has the call), is scheduled for a 7 PM Pacific Time start.

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